Loose Lips
by prismdreams
Summary: Caitlin stayed at Star Labs after hours to look after Barry as he began to regain his stamina. She believed him to be asleep as she ran her final tests on him. As she looked on she watched him sleep, just like she knew he had many times before. Extended/Alternate scene of 4x15 "Enter Flashtime." Snowbarry.


_**A/N:** Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this one and let me know what you all think. I would really like feedback on this one shot. I'm still doing my rewrite series of Snowbarry on the show. Think of them as alternative/missing/deleted scenes that should have been on the show. That's all! All my other stories will get updates shortly, thanks guys! Bye! :)_

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Caitlin exhaled deeply as she watched Cisco and Harry vacate the labs without looking back. She paused and shook her head with a bemused look as she heard them bickering playfully again. They sound married to each other if Caitlin didn't know any better.

She loved having Cisco around but once in a while it was nice to have the labs alone so she could wrap up Barry's last minute tests and get a head start for tomorrow. Most of the results were progressing. It wasn't something she wasn't normally looking at. Barry's organism was getting stronger. He is now healing at a much faster rate than when she first examined him four years ago.

She narrowed her eyes at the computer screen. The data in front of her astounded her as she logged in the notes needed. Shaking her head it's a wonder that someone like Barry still amazed her in spite of all they've been through. She remembered when she was angry with him when they first met; part of her enjoyed seeing Barry look cornered, almost like he was scared of her. Then they got to know each other and she gained another friend. Those were the best times.

Indeed so much has happened and Caitlin didn't know how to wrap her head around it all. She tossed and turned at night the 6 months Barry was in the speed force and now she's back to the team; a team where Iris West is self-branded "the leader." She creased her brows at that notion. It was too late to do anything about it now; she's Iris West-Allen.

Caitlin sighed as she wrote more notes down, completing her analysis of Barry's status. She glanced over to where he lay rested and found herself staring in his direction. She frowned slightly as she looked at him, most likely in a deep sleep. The even breathing he possessed made him look childlike; the innocence she saw made her heart ache at the sight. She folded her arms, staring so long she didn't hear a sudden sound that tripped her out of the reverie.

She narrowed her eyes and saw it was the heart monitor that had fallen to the ground. She slowly stood up and made her way to his bed. Barry was completely still but appeared to look vulnerable all at once. She was very delicate as she picked up the finger-shaped monitor, considering which finger she was going to place it on. His right hand was firmly inside of the covers so that was out. His index finger was protocol but he was bandaged up from his injuries. His thumb was off limits as well, too short, as was his pinky. Knowing he was going to heal pretty soon she chose his ring finger.

She bit her lip, his wedding band looked big and she'd have to stretch the rubber extended part of the monitor in order to fit properly, but there was a risk of it making a smacking sound that might jolt him up. She thought about it very carefully before lifting his left hand gently in hers, almost limp in her own hand, and slowly began removing the wedding band from his ring finger.

Success, she did it. She smiled a sigh of relief as she place the band on the small table and turned back to fix the monitor on firmly and began pulling away when Barry's hand gripped back. She widened her eyes, wondering what was going on. She made no sudden moments as his hand held tighter over hers. Her breathing sped up as she watched his eye lids gradually animate until they were fully open.

"Hey..." He whispered.

"Hi." She said, not knowing what else to say.

Barry's body was catching up with his brain as he realized he had a tight grip onto something. Caitlin.

He loosened, blushing as she pulled away, putting a few inches of distance between them. He groaned, trying his best to sit up but failed at the first attempt.

"What's going on?"

Caitlin fidgeted her hands, placing them behind her back. "I was just fixing your monitor. Sorry if I woke you. I'm almost done here actually. Don't mind me."

Barry blinked like he was still dreaming, half of him was still asleep and the other part knew Caitlin was checking his pulse like she had many times before.

"How long was I out?" His raspy voice asked her. "Asleep?"

Caitlin took a deep breath. "Not long. Everyone left then. Normally you're fast asleep and I wrap up and leave not too long after them."

Barry smiled lightly. "Do you prefer I go back to sleep?"

Caitlin blushed. "You're already awake; it's not a big deal. But you're welcome to it if you wish."

He rolled his eyes, still feeling the searing rush of pain in his head. He was wondering if there was a pill strong enough to knock out the anguish.

"Do you have a pain killer? I don't know if my body can handle it, I do heal fast, but I was wondering, can I have some?"

Caitlin shrugged, looking for the ones she kept on standby in case he woke up feeling nauseated. She lifted the syringe in the air, showing it off.

He nodded, turning his head to the side as she injected the liquid into his bloodstream through his IV drip.

"Only giving you small doses or else you might fall asleep." She said, placing the syringe in the sterilized bin.

"Whatever you're doing, it's working, wow, that _was_ fast. Thanks." He whispered, staring back at her. "Hey, Caitlin?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we're going to find Devoe?"

Caitlin observed his insecure tone; if she wanted to lie to him she would quote Iris and give an affirmative answer. But she couldn't, not before and not now.

"I don't know, I hope we do."

"Wow..."

"What?"

"No, it's just—not used to hearing vague answers. I mean Iris always says..." Barry paused when Caitlin's stare narrowed, she gulped. "Never mind."

Caitlin's stiff body began turning until Barry spoke, putting her in a frozen state.

"I guess I wanted that answer more than the lies people have been feeding me."

She wanted to drop the conversation, not change the subject; she wished Barry had stayed asleep. "I couldn't...do that."

Barry stared in her direction, curious as to why she avoided his eyes in that moment. He narrowed his own eyes, watching her behavior.

"I know…you and Cisco, you guys are my best friends. I would be completely lost, even dead without you. To be honest I feel like I abandoned you all since I've gotten married."

Caitlin thought for a moment and checked the nearly empty bottle of liquid she had streamed inside of Barry. It wasn't truth serum, she was wondering where all this was coming from. It definitely didn't sound like Barry. Not since lately, not the Barry he is now.

"We're fine, everyone is OK and you're OK. We're all just...trying to get by. It's no one's fault, just, let's just move passed it." Caitlin rushed out and took a breath, realizing she had been holding hers trying to get all of that out.

She turned around and walked back to her computer, attempting to finish what she had left. Her mind and attention had been so focused she didn't hear Barry calling out to her in a soft voice.

"Caitlin...?" Barry asked again, he had to try to reach her.

She blinked, looking down before picking up her face and staring in his direction. The look he held broke her heart.

"Are we OK? I mean, are we friends?" Barry asked nervously.

"We are..." Caitlin smiled his way, but it was a smile she used when she was putting on a brave face.

Barry began sitting up, feeling the pain in his upper region melt away but still feeling weak at the same time.

"Why do I feel like that hasn't been true for a long time?"

Caitlin shook her head, looking down. "I don't know why you think that."

"Why won't you look at me, Cait?" Barry asked her, that name he used that was only for her.

She picked up her head and nearly glared his way. "There, is that better?"

Barry put up his hands, laughing. "I didn't say like that. Is everything alright...between us?"

Caitlin stood up and grabbed a new pen when the one she was using ran out of ink. She pressed down hard when she heard Barry cough.

She sighed and tossed the pen on the sheet, as she rubbed between her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?"

Barry's tense look locked her down, he knew she was avoiding his eyes but he wanted to keep his solid stare until she finally made eye contact.

"Caitlin, what's wrong?"

She slumped over, feeling the ache in her neck as she craned it to look at him. He was nearly coming out of bed. She made a bold move and walked over to where he lay and placed his body down, gently.

"You need to lay back. Sitting up like this could— _derail_ the healing process. Your body can't take that kind of pressure."

"I've healed from worse scenarios than this, I'm fine. Why won't you talk to me?" He asked, she could feel his breath over her face, sending small tingles across her nerves.

She focused on a part of his body instead of those green eyes that looked straight into her. She hated how vulnerable she felt us his gaze.

"Barry, don't." She said, her strength crumbling faster than she wanted.

He took hold of her arm when she began to pull away and pulled her directly to him. "Don't what? What happened to us, Cait? Why aren't we talking to each other anymore?"

"This is not the time or place—"

"So _when_ is? Caitlin, come on. Look at the work we do. Look at our lives. We risk them every day to protect innocent people. Anything can happen, to me, Cicso, to you, to any of us. I don't want us to be strangers. We have to communicate. What are we doing then?"

Barry released his grip on her arm as Caitlin's eyes trailed up to meet his. She knew then and there that she couldn't lie.

"Look Barry—"

"What is it? Please tell me."

"I don't think you're going to like what I'm going to say."

"I still want to hear it."

She took a deep breath, sitting on her stool and folded her arms looking off around the room. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

"You wouldn't—"

"Caitlin, it's OK..." Barry interrupted, urging her to continue.

She looked up to his monitors and observed his status. "Your vitals are spiking. If I answer will you please calm down?"

"I will, promise." He slowly leaned back, not tearing his eyes away from her for a second.

Caitlin was quiet for a few moments as she took some time to think of what to say. She observed his vitals quickly before answering him.

"I just think a lot has happened between us. You, me, Cisco, Iris and Joe, Harry. I think the distance is growing...deafening." She paused for a second. "We feel like, maybe it's just me who thinks this; I feel like, maybe we should just separate ourselves from you. Give you space."

Barry's eyes narrowed as his mouth curved into a bow. "What do you mean? Where are you guys going?"

Caitlin shifted in her chair, growing more nervous by the second. "I don't know how to say this, but, with all that's going on with you and me, I don't see how I should be here anymore. I thought about leaving...for good."

Barry's eyes widened and he sat up slightly. "What? W-why?"

Her shaky hand came to her hair, smoothing it out. "Because I had to, you guys, I mean, I guess, I don't know. Maybe only Cisco would have noticed; he was the one who sought me out. But you, I don't you would have cared." Caitlin's eyes glowed white, she could feel Frost coming out, growing stronger by the minute.

The more honest she was, the more fearless she felt, same emotions going through her mind when she transformed into Frost before his eyes. She could feel her body wanting to stay in that state.

Her eyes completely changed to Frost's and she smirked at Barry. " _You_ again, jeez. Does Team Flash _ever_ have their own lives? Clearly I _don't_ need to be here."

Barry gulped as the rest of her transformation began resurfacing. "I know you're still in there. Caitlin wouldn't abandon us; she knows how important she is."

Frost laughed throwing her head back. "Whatever you tell yourself, Flash. Caitlin is a weak, selfless and breakable victim. That is _not_ who I am. I bring out the best in her. You lot could not careless what happens to her. It's better if she goes it alone, I'll take care of her."

Barry completely sat up and pulled the covers off of his body, "That's not true. We love her, she's important to us."

Frost sighed as she slow clapped sarcastically. "So much for inspiring speeches, epic fail. I thought those were your thing, Flash."

"Caitlin is in there, you don't need to protect her, I will. She's _my_ responsibility."

She cackled gleefully, "Yeah, we all know how _that_ ends up. Who are you kidding? You've gotten weaker, Flash. Guess it was all that pseudo incest clouding your better judgments. Your step-sister/wife made ya soft. Let's not go into that Brady Bunch relationshit shall we? You don't want Caitlin, you _never_ did."

Barry's brows rose at that. Frost has a sharp tongue no doubt but why would she say that about Caitlin?

"What do you mean, don't want?"

"Please—do you think Caitlin forgot about the moment she kissed you?"

"Wait, what? She did what? When? I don't remember any kiss?" Barry got up out of bed and stood up, throwing his finger monitor on the bed.

Frost rolled her eyes, "Guess Caitlin doesn't tell you guys everything, does she? She macked you pretty good circa 2015. You initiated, she was surprised but she kissed you back. I gotta hand it to her, girl's got spunk. That was before I entered the picture."

Barry followed Frost out to the cortex and sped stopped her. He cornered her body, making sure to put his weight over hers. She raised her hand in threatening motion brimming with cold condensation.

"Did this really happen? Are you lying to me?" Barry demanded through grit teeth. "Tell me!"

He shook her body and she leaned in near his lips, whispering against them, "Why would I lie about something that felt amazing?"

Barry backed up, released her from his grip, this was getting _too_ real for him. If it was indeed true then—

"This changes _everything_. I can't believe I never knew; I never figured it out. I thought it was strange how she—you, were trying to kill me through a kiss. You could have easily stabbed me."

Frost moaned, recalling that moment like it was yesterday with a playful smirk. "I wasn't doing anything Caitlin wasn't uncomfortable doing. An idiot would have figured it out."

Barry glared at her.

"Looks like he has...well it's not like it'll make any difference. You guys aren't close anymore since your incest wedding went through."

"Would you stop saying that! Iris is my wife, she's _not_ my sister."

Frost gestured to his hand with a curl of her finger. "No wedding band, Marsha and Greg Brady aren't married sunny."

"What, it's here..." he brought up his finger showing the missing band on his ring finger. "Where is it? Christ, did you take it?"

Frost's smirk turned wider as she folded her arms the angrier Barry got. "Well _this_ is interesting...wasn't me. Must have been Caity. Imma start giving her more credit for what she does."

"Why would Caitlin do that? That's crazy. Why would she take my ring?" Barry thought for a moment, "It doesn't make sense."

Frost shrugged, "Neither does your nuptials. Life's full of conflicting enigmas."

Barry walked in a daze back to his bed and sat down. This was a lot to process for him. "This feels like a dream."

"Hmm, she could do _so_ much better. I'll admit, I'm sure she had fun kissing you, well, what she _thought_ was you."

Barry looked up and winced, "Who was it? Someone who looked like me?"

"Some shape shifting dude. Bits and pieces of the memories come back here and there."

Barry looked at the ground in shock. "Hannibal Bates. God, no wonder she reacted that way." He shared a serious look with Frost, "You need to bring her back."

Frost shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Wish it were that easy. I'm the stronger one of us, I'm the dominate."

He stood up and sped to where Frost stood, taking hold of her shoulders, gripping them this time.

"I've done it before I can do it again. Caitlin, I _know_ you can hear me, please come back. I need you to come back."

Frost flinched; her movements were getting small as she heard him call to Caitlin. Not liking where this is going, she pushed at him which only made him hold tighter.

"Not gonna work, Flash. Caitlin isn't home. I'm not gonna let you hurt her anymore."

"I've done this before and I know deep down you can come back to me. You're safe now, don't let her take over. Please Caitlin; I want you back with me."

Frost's transformation was flickering back and forth, she was slipping and she didn't think just the sound of Barry's voice would make her feel confused. "Stop it, Flash, she doesn't need you."

"She does, now more than ever. You need to let go already." Barry's bedroom voice rang out making her face tick.

Frost's voice screamed out before the flickering suddenly stopped. "I don't need you."

Painting he spoke in a rushed tone as his heart raced, "You're lying."

Barry didn't think as he closed in the gap between their lips, kissing her fervently, making sure she felt exactly what he was in that moment. He didn't care about anything else. Losing Caitlin would have been worse than his own death. He didn't realize that he too, felt something real when their lips met.

Familiar. Longing. Painful. Tormenting. Barry couldn't let go, even if he knew she could drain all his heat and keep it for herself.

"Stop it...you mean nothing to me. Barry just—" Frost couldn't finish a thought; Barry's lips clouded any words she planned to say back.

She can't fight back, finding it hard to push him back she melted into the kiss, pressing her body against his. The warm parts of her heart filled her chest as Barry gently cradled her face, following the rhythm of his, trying to dance with his motions.

Barry found his arms firmly around her body, feeling her chest pressed against his naked one, the warmth permeating from her body made him feel so happy. He had never felt this content in a long time.

Abruptly they pulled away, unable to keep control of their breathing. Frost morphed entirely back to Caitlin, hazel eyes staring back at green eyes as she dragged her tongue across where his lips touched. She moved away from him slowly and went to the labs to find her purse.

Barry watched her every move, wondering if what he felt was true for her too.

"Are we gonna talk about what just happened?" Barry prompted, even with Caitlin's back turned he could still sense she didn't want to walk away.

"I'm done talking!" She shouted, turned around only to crash into his body and make contact with his lips.

He took the lead and she followed his movements, catching up, slowly and delicately. She never thought he'd be so gentle, so breathtaking. Caitlin gave the passion she only dreamed of back to him, earning a moan she felt vibrate against her chest.

"I don't wanna talk anymore..." Barry whispered against her lips, capturing her soft mouth in another kiss that made her knees melt.

Caitlin pulled back, looking to him with milky eyes, with lust and passion, swirling around her mind as her heart sped up.

"What...does this mean?" She whispered against his lips, pressing them fervently against his. "Barry...?"

He responded by pressing hers even harder. He never knew he had these feelings before, was he too blind to realize them being obsessed with things that he thought mattered but now seem so small in comparison to who he held in his arms now?

"Everything has..." he pulled back, opening his eyes to stare at the woman who has been in front of him all this time, "changed."


End file.
